


Seeds of Change

by th3dandymancan



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 09:34:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20307313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/th3dandymancan/pseuds/th3dandymancan
Summary: It has been more than a year since she left Zuko and her so-called mother behind, fleeing into the Forgetful Valley. But despite the great distance she's put between herself and her family, Azula is no closer to finding peace for her troubled mind. When she meets a tentative friend who isn't bothered at all by her claims of being a monster, will Azula begin the journey to healing, or will she sink further into the mess she's made of her life?Meanwhile, with the rest of the Gaang, life after the "Happy Ending" of the War's End is proving to be more difficult than any of them had anticipated.Zuko must find a balance between his duties as Firelord, and his new family. Aang is juggling his efforts to keep the World's sometimes unstable peace, attempting to rebuild his People's Culture, and figuring out how his and Katara's relationship should progress. Katara and Sokka's world is shaken up when Hakoda announces he wants to remarry, other events do little to make this any easier. Toph is having trouble at home: her parents worry constantly, and pester her about starting a family and settling down. To top it off, new factions threaten to upset the hard-earned peace our heroes won at war's end.





	Seeds of Change

**Seeds of Change**

by th3dandymancan

**Part 1: Monsters and Nightmares**

**Prologue: A Haunted Forest**

**Summer, circa 103 AG**

The Sun had just dipped below the horizon as the two men reached the edge of the forest. Nursing an injured leg, the taller of the two sat with his back against a tree, gingerly examining the sore area. “Shouldn't we keep going, San?”, the shorter man asked, “They have to know we're gone by now. Doc's gonna be mad...”

“It doesn't matter what your doctor thinks, or what any of those hacks think!” snapped San, “and don't rush me, my leg isn't happy about catching _Guri's fat ass_ when he didn't think he could make the jump!”

“You don't have to be rude,” replied the shorter, admittedly rounder Guri, “and besides, you needed my help to take down that guard; good luck climbing down the wall with a guard cutting the rope from the top!”

“...it would have been easier with three people,” the shorter man muttered, “I still don't like how we left Mak behind; he planned this whole escape after all...”

“It had to be done.” San stated matter-of-factly, “the guards weren't where we were expecting, and we only had minutes before they noticed something was up. Don't feel too bad anyways, Mak's probably getting to stuff his face with festival food, in fact, I bet you're actually jealous now that I've mentioned it!”

“Screw you.” Guri shot back with obvious annoyance, earning only a smug grin from the man propped against the tree trunk. “...anyway, we should continue while we still have some light left, we could get pretty far along the forest's edge before dark...”

“We're not going around,” San interjected, clambering to his feet, “it'll be quicker to go through: pretty sure it's a shortcut to the nearest village. Besides, it's only a matter of time before the shrinks back there get the whole plan from Mak, and unless you want to get hauled back to the asylum, we need to throw them off our trail.”

“B-but, isn't that forest, you know, haunted?” asked Guri, his eyes growing wide with fear. “You've been listening to Mo Ra's nonsense.” San spat contemptuously, “He told the others those stories to scare them into good behavior. That bastard thinks we won't notice how he mocks us with his fairy tales and ghost stories? He doesn't understand what we have to deal with every day...”

“C'mon, that's only because you won't talk with him about it.” Guri retorted, his brow furrowing, “He listens to me when I tell him about the whispers, and it's helped me to ignore them, mostly. I mean, there's got to be a reason he's the head doctor... I'm sure he'd even be willing to help you with your visions, or whatever you call them.”

“Why don't you shut your trap about other people's business!” the taller man snapped. Clearly Guri had struck a nerve. “Look, you gonna keep fantasizing about that wretched place, or are you coming with me?” San had already started making his way into the looming forest, before pausing to call back over his shoulder, “You can stay there, I guess, but you'd be better off sticking with me. C'mon, we'll be harder to find if get further in before dark...” With that, San set off in earnest.

Sparing a parting glance back the way they came, Guri swallowed hard, and stepped into the forest after his comrade.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

“Are you sure this is a shortcut?” Guri asked while looking all around him, “I mean, half the time this doesn't even look like a path! We should have stuck to going around the e-” Guri's complaint was cut short as he fell flat on his face, having tripped over a tree root.

San cursed under his breath at his comrade's sudden outcry of pain. “That's what happens when you don't pay attention to where you're walking, idiot! Exactly WHY you're better off with me: at least I'M focused on getting us where we're going.”

Guri whimpered as he got to his feet, his hands now featuring several small scrapes and cuts from where he landed heavily on them. “Oh yeah?” he shot back, “does where we're going include food and water? 'Cause you forgot to grab those when we left. It wouldn't have even been that hard, you could have bagged some of the stuff Doc said they were making for the Solstice festival. I mean, he promised there would be enough for everyone to have their fill, so there was bound to be a lot lying around. Shame we didn't get to have any...”

“Hey, I get it: big guy likes food and wants his dinner!” San mocked, rolling his eyes, “Look, if you were really content to let them keep you fat and happy there forever, you wouldn't have gone along with this plan in the first place. And besides, that whole festival was weird to begin with; I mean, why make such a big deal about the Summer Solstice? But I guess we're lucky there, since it's the longest day of the year, and we wouldn't have had this much daylight otherwise...”

“Yeah? Well, that daylight's almost gone, is there somewhere you planned for us to sleep for the night? Who knows what creatures are lurking about in here...” Guri pondered, his face betraying more than a little worry, “I'm not much of a tree climber, but I'm guessing you already knew that...”

“You worry too much.” San scoffed, “and besides, we've obviously got luck on our side!” With that he gave a wide arm gesture to their front: the previously dense forest had cleared considerably before beginning a moderate incline. And at the base of this hill, partially obscured by some shrubbery, lay the entrance to a cave.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Grabbing another couple branches in each hand, San let out an exasperated sigh. “Agni, I'm not sure I can put up with his whining for another day, much less however long the rest of our trip takes...” he said to no one in particular before placing the branches he'd gathered in a way that helped further obscure the cave's opening.

Guri had seemed to jump at the slightest unfamiliar sound (which in this forest, was most noises), and it was starting to drive San up a wall. His companion's hearing was admittedly a good deal better than your average person's, and this was of crucial importance when making their escape. Unfortunately, Guri had the tendency to hear things when they weren't even there; a major reason he found himself in the asylum in the first place...

“Hey man, I'm still not so sure this cave's empty!” Guri had said nervously, “I'm telling you, I think I heard something rattling further down in the dark, kinda like the guard's clubs hitting their armor... Maybe they predicted we'd hide here, and decided to send some to wait until we fell asleep and put us in irons again!”

San couldn't decide whether to laugh or scoff at his comrade's delusional words. “Look, I told you, I checked pretty thoroughly for any animal tracks before we even set foot in here, and there was nothing! Didn't even see any Cavehoppers around, but I figure there will probably be some in here somewhere. Try and catch a few if you see any; I know eating bugs doesn't sound so great right now, but it'd be better than nothing...”

Guri offered no reply, opting rather to keep staring the dark passage that lead further into their makeshift room for the night. “Hey, I'm gonna go get some more branches,” San started to say, before the other man interrupted: “What?! But, we already have a bunch of leaves and stuff for bedding! You're just planning to run off without me, aren't you?”

“Why would I take the trouble to gather two people's worth of bedding if I planned on ditching you?” San rolled his eyes, “I just want to make sure the mouth of this cave is at least partially disguised for the night.” With that, San lit a small flame in his palm, and used it to ignite one of the smaller extra branches they'd hauled in with the rest of the bedding. “See if you can't get a small fire going in the corner, I won't be long.”

“I didn't know you were a firebender!” Guri's wide eyes glowed in the firelight. “Well, I couldn't exactly use it back at the asylum, dummy!” came San's sarcastic reply. “Don't let that fire die out...”

Now outside the cave, San started to think that maybe leaving Guri behind didn't sound so bad. His leg was even starting to feel better. “No, it would be stupid to go alone, at least not before we reach a village and resupply...” San thought aloud, before sweeping away his footprints with another tree branch. “Soon enough San, soon enough you'll really be free...”

A sudden scream from inside the cave jolted San away from his musings. Rushing back inside, he was greeted by an odd chittering noise combined with muffled screaming. Casting a massive shadow on the cave wall stood an enormous insect-like creature, with Guri held tightly in a few of its many claw-like arms. Its head looked almost like it was attempting to eat the escaped man, but San couldn't discern any jaws on the beast. Instead, it seemed as if it were pressing its face against Guri's, at which Guri could only grunt and moan in protest.

San was frozen in place, he'd never imagined a monster like this could even exist! Ignoring his terror, San sprung into action. Launching forward, he grabbed Guri about the waist and pulled as hard as he could. Guri's muffled cries became a scream once more, as he separated from the creature in a spray of blood.

San's gasp of shock and horror was cut short as both he and Guri landed hard on the cave floor. “C'mon, we gotta RUN!” San shouted, turning Guri to face him. Only, you wouldn't know it was Guri, as the bloodied body had no face. “AAAAAGH! WHAT THE HELL?!” All the color had drained from San's face, while his comrade's bore nothing but raw, bleeding flesh.

“You shouldn't have interrupted us, mortal.” came a voice behind him, “Normally my victims don't immediately perish, but you just had to mess it up, didn't you?” Shaking in fear, San turned to face the ominous voice. “What are you?” San squeaked out, his face frozen in terror.

“Help me San! Help! It's got me!” the massive creature turned toward the firelight, revealing Guri's mangled face where a mouth should be. “HELP ME!” the shrill cry escaped Guri's bloodied lips, “HELP ME SAN! HELP ME! HELP! HE-HE-HE-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” San turned and ran for his life, pain in his leg be damned.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Back at the asylum, Head Doctor Mo Ra slumped into his chair. Two guards had been injured in the incident earlier that evening, marring what would otherwise have been a refreshingly pleasant night. Guri being one of the escapees truly surprised the doctor; the troubled man had been more willing than most to talk to the doctor about his mental health. He had even shown decent progression, his “whispers” as he called them grower more infrequent. It was likely rather, that his companion had roped Guri into the ill-advised escape.

A sudden knock on his office door brought him back to the present. “Come in!” called out the doctor, his face creased with worry. Hopefully this brought good news. “Mo Ra, they found San.” said the grim-faced guard that had just entered. “And Guri?” responded the doctor, with growing unease.

“Sir, when they found San, he was raving like a lunatic. And, he was splattered with blood, although he had no major cuts we noticed... He kept going on about a monster, claiming it killed Guri. He wouldn't be calmed, even growing more hysterical, so we sedated him. Didn't want any more guards injured tonight...” The guard looked to the doctor, his nervous expression probably anticipating a reprimand.

“I understand.” Mo Ra said gravely, “This night has seen enough violence, I don't fault you for trying to prevent any more, even if we try to avoid sedating the patients when possible. You may go now, I'd say you all earned a good night's rest. Hopefully I can get some too, I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.” The guard saluted, and left the doctor to his thoughts.

“Oh Agni, what have you done, San?” Mo Ra pinched the bridge of his nose, and bowed his head solemnly. San had been rather less willing to share his troubles with the doctors at the asylum, his mistrust at times bordering on contempt. The man's mental troubles came mainly in the form of hallucinations, although they rarely resulted in violent behavior. Now, it seemed that San's delusions had led him to take his friend's life.

“Ugh. What a mess. Well, comes with the territory, I suppose...” This certainly hadn't been the first patient plagued with hallucinations, but he couldn't recall a case turning out this badly before, not even _her_... His thoughts drifted back to another notable case, although the patient in question had been released long before the Asylum's Head Doctor thought was appropriate. He had implored the new Firelord to reconsider pulling his sister from the program, but Mo Ra's pleas did nothing to change the young ruler's mind.

The doctor's fears were only proven right when he later heard that she had run away, evading all attempts to find her. “It's a shame, that one so young should be so troubled...” he thought aloud, “Wherever she is, I hope she's at least found some semblance of happiness...”

**[End of Prologue]**

Author's Note Time! This will be a long one...

To begin, I'd like to say “Welcome!” to any and all who happen to be reading this so far! I'm honored and humbled that you'd give of your time to read my work. I hope it has been enjoyable thus far.

Next, I'd like to offer a couple insights as to where I'm headed with this story. These will help give a general idea of what sort of tale I'm trying to write, and may help readers decide if they wish to continue reading or not.

**Firstly**, an overview of what kind of content this story will contain: as you've already seen, this tale will contain both **Blood** and **Violence**, although I don't care for the gratuitous use of either. Of course, life isn't so restrained, and moments of graphic violence and associated **Gore** aren't off the table per se, but my aim is to be as restrained in my descriptions as I can without compromising the storytelling. Somewhat relating to the violence part, is **Character Death**. I'm no George RR Martin, but I'd be lying if I said no characters will end their life's journey before the end of the story. Just a heads up.

Similarly, _Seeds of Change_ will contain **Suggestive** content (meaning **Adult**, **Sexual**). I want to be clear however, that explicit sexual content like found in Lemon/Smut stories will NOT feature in this tale. Some authors intend to describe in great detail the adult content their stories contain, but that is not my intent. This is not a smut story, those can be found elsewhere.

“So, if you're not including smut scenes, why the adult content warning?” Good question! My intent is to tell a mature story (more mature than Nickelodeon can allow anyway...), and that includes moments where very adult things take place, or attempt to take place. For example, at one point we will see how one character has suffered sexual abuse in their past (although like I mentioned, Ill try to approach that topic delicately, with as little detail as reasonably possible), at another point, we will witness an attempted rape (an obviously appalling act, but evil characters will attempt evil actions). Along those lines, this story will contain romance (what good story is without that?), and with any romance involving young adults, there are bound to be risque moments. Expect a few of those, but again, nothing really graphic.

As for **Language, **you've already seen some, and I don't really plan for it to get much stronger than what I've written already. There are 1 or 2 F-bomb moments planned, and I'm sure some strong language will work its way into some high-tension moments as well. I believe it's possible to tell a good story (or write a good song for that matter) without feeling the need to lace it with strong language. For some characters, cussing/obscenities will be character-appropriate, but I doubt I'll need to spend much time on them.

**Secondly**, an idea of the **Setting** of this story: _Seeds of Change_ will take place in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe, meaning the same one as constructed in the Nick Show. The main Timeline will take place roughly 4 Years after the Series Finale (so Aang and Toph will be 16 years old, Zuko 20, etc.). Some of you who have read the Comics are likely wondering now how they factor in to this story.

Truth is, they both do and don't factor in. While I will draw upon elements (no pun intended) of both _The Promise_ and _The Search_ comics, I will ignore others aspects of those stories. _Smoke and Shadow_ will be ignored altogether, as will any lore or canon from The Legend of Korra. No Raava/Vaatu, no Avatar Wan, none. Nada. Zip. The reason for this is a long and tedious answer, but suffice to say that I'm not particularly fond of how tLoK treated the lore and characters of AtLA. Thus, tLoK will be ignored entirely in regard to lore/canon. I may well take inspiration from some concepts from tLoK however, as it did have interesting parts as well.

In short, I want to construct a story that fits within the Universe of AtLA, but continues the character's stories in a believable way.

Now that I have those insights out of the way, I must thank you again for taking the time to read this far! What are your thoughts on the Prologue? Is the Pacing sensible? Or is it hard to follow? Did I describe things in too little detail? What are your thoughts on how I've written dialogue so far? (the dialogue in particular is something I'm unsure on, always looking to improve!)


End file.
